Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to multifunctional access control devices. More particularly, but not exclusively, embodiments of the present invention relate to access control devices that are adaptable to being configured to be programmed using a plurality of modes of electronic communication.
Security management systems often utilized a variety of access control devices to control ingress and/or egress through an entryway. The operation and management of such security management systems typically involves the transmission and/or receipt of certain electronic communications to, as well as between, different access control devices. For example, verification of authorization to unlock an electronic lock device may involve electronic communications being received or retrieved by access control devices from other devices or components of the security management system. Depending on how a particular access control device operates, the security management system may utilize several different devices or components of the security management system that are not part of that access control device in the performance of a function by the access control device, including, for example, other access control devices, an access control panel, and/or wiring, among other devices. Further, in certain situations, the operation and management of a particular access control device may involve electronic communications from several different types of integrated access control devices. However, different components of the security management system may communicate using different communication modes, including, for example, different communication protocols. Accordingly, limitations in the types of communication modes in which an access control device may receive, or retrieve, and/or transmit, information may limit the devices that can communicate, or the manner in which the devices can communicate, with the access control device, and thereby limit which security management systems may use the access control device.